X marks the spot: newly released treasure map sparks hunt for £15m Nazi hoard

Second world war document revealing a stash of coins and jewels hidden by German soldiers is put online by Dutch archivists

As the Nazis fled occupied Europe in the final days of the second world war, four German soldiers buried a hoard of gold coins and jewels in the middle of nowhere in the Dutch countryside. Nearly 80 years later, hopes of finding the buried loot have been raised after the National Archives of the Netherlands released a trove of documents - and a map to the treasure where X marks the spot.

The treasure - four ammunition cases laden with coins, watches, jewellery, diamonds and other gemstones - is thought to have been worth at least 2m or 3m Dutch guilder in 1945, the equivalent of around 15.85m in today's money.